The Ceremony

The Ceremony After receiving a telegram from their cousin informing them of the sender’s own death, Masuo and Ritsuko travel to his house to verify the news. The trip brings back memories of Masuo’s traditional and patriarchal family, and its history of arranged and often incestuous marriages. Having given up his dream of becoming a baseball player in order to meet the obligations and expectations of his family, Masuo’s growing feelings for Ritsuko make him realise he may never be able to escape their clutches. Commenting on how the continuing weight of Japan’s own traditions oppresses the young, Oshima delivers a deceptively elegant portrait of Japanese decorum, using a film style gleaned from Golden Age masters such as Ozu and Mizoguchi SPECIAL FEATURES New 4K restoration from the original negative Uncompressed mono PCM audio Select-scene audio commentary by author Jasper Sharp (2025) Archival interview with Nagisa Oshima (1986, 4 mins) New interview with critic Tony Rayns on Oshima’s life and career (2025, 46 mins) Newly improved English subtitle translation Year: 1971 Country: Japan Cert: 15 Format: Blu-ray Region: ABC RAD149BD EAN: 5060974682966 Release date: 17/08/26